


Not Just Any Case

by cliffordsunshine



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: Just not yet, M/M, Obviously AU, cal and ash may be in this later, idk what else to tag, it's actually really fluffy, it's pretty fluffy later on, mentions of depression, past abusive relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-24
Updated: 2015-02-02
Packaged: 2018-02-22 10:59:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,594
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2505374
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cliffordsunshine/pseuds/cliffordsunshine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The one in which Michael must move in with Luke in hopes of staying out of jail.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm here with a new story :) It took a little longer than expected to write the first chapter, but I'm currently sick and decided to finish it so here it is! Also, I legit know so little about the law or anything to do with the justice system so you'll really have to use your imagination for this, okay? Thanks!

It was 4:56 in the morning when Luke got the call. It was another case of robbery. It sucked, really, to be woken up so damn early for some failed attempt at robbery. Being a 22 year old lawyer didn't get you murder cases just yet. 

"Some guy tried to rob a local grocery store," said the police officer over the phone, "he says he wants a lawyer but no one wants to take the job cause he's done this before."  
Luke sighed and shook his head slowly. 

"He's an idiot. But I'll do it." He groaned as the police officer told him he'd have to get to the station as soon as possible. He hung up and stared at his bed sadly. 

"Fucking idiot." 

 

Luke managed to get to the station 30 minutes after he hung up. He was sure he looked like he was on the verge of dying but he felt great. Defending future criminals is what he lived for after all. 

"Ahh, nice to see you again Mr. Hemmings. Your client is waiting and he's getting quite impatient. Names Clifford. Michael Clifford. He's been threatening the officers all morning. I suggest you get in there soon," said Ruth, a security guard he'd known for about 2 years. 

"Will do. Thanks, Ruth." He waved goodbye. 

He walked into the room on the left and was almost hit by a flying object he later found out was a cup. The room was hectic even though there were only 2 police officers and another guy Luke assumed was Michael. He had lilac hair, tattoos, pierced eyebrow and pretty much looked like the type of person Luke avoided. He almost walked out. Almost.

"Are you the fucking lawyer?" asked the guy. He'd apparently been trying to leave but the officers were holding him back. Luke told them to let him go and sat down at the table. The police officers backed up and walked toward the door. 

"We're going to let you talk to this fool and the chief will be here later on to work court issues out with you. Good luck, Mr. Hemmings." Both of the police officers lightly patted his shoulder before walking out, leaving Luke and Michael alone. 

"You're the lawyer? You're like 15." Michael laughed at himself as Luke scowled and sat at the table before replying. "Not much older than you."

Michael sat next to him. 

"So what? You're gonna get me out of here by looking cute?" Luke groaned. 

"I'm not going to get you out of here. You're going to go to court and they're going to decide what they want to do with you. I'm just going to help you through the process and explain what's going on. If you have anything that could potentially save you from jail then I advise you give it to me now," Luke said as he opened his briefcase. He'd been given Michael's file earlier and had stuffed it into the briefcase. 

"Says here you've been arrested for robbing, loitering, and 2 counts of assault. What the fuck, dude? How are you not in jail?" Luke mumbled before shaking his head and apologizing. It was hard being professional around this guy. Michael laughed as he leaned his chair back, smirking. 

"What can I say? I want what I want. I get what I want. It happens. Anyways, how long is this going to take cause I have better things to do than to sit here and talk about my personal life." Luke sighed because they weren't talking about his personal life to begin with. 

"I don't think you realize that this time it's going to be more than just getting bail. You've been caught too many times. You might actually be sent to jail this time. If the owner of the store chooses to press charges then you'll definitely go to jail," Luke explained. Michael sat up and stared at Luke. 

"You can't let that happen. If I go to jail.." he looked down and groaned. "Fuck." 

"Is everything okay? Are you..Michael, are you into gang related stuff?" Michael furrowed his eyebrows and then laughed. 

"What the fuck? No. I'm not into that. I just can't go to jail. You'll do everything you can, right?" Luke bit his lip and shrugged. 

"There's not much I can do. You'll have to stay in a cell until your court date. I assume it'll be in 2 days. I'll have talk to the owner and if he's pressing charges then you're done." Michael stood up and ran a hand through his dyed hair. 

"Okay. There's something I need to ask you to do for me." Luke nodded and waited for Michael to continue. 

"I wasn't even going to tell you cause I thought I'd be out of here by tonight but apparently that's not the case. I need you to check on my mum. She's really sick and can't do much on her own. I usually help her out but..well obviously I can't. Can you do that?" Michael asked. It was the first time Luke saw him look genuinely serious so he nodded. 

Michael smiled. 

"Thank you, Luke." 

 

Luke had in fact checked on Michael's mum and let her know that Michael wouldn't be home for a few days. He said he was Michael's friend and that Michael would be spending the weekend with him. She was very kind. She packed some clothes for Michael with Luke's help and gave him a tight hug before he left. 

Before heading back to the station, he had to stop at the grocery store to talk to the owner. 

He spoke to the owner and pleaded with him to not press any charges. It didn't cross his mind that, had it not been Michael he was helping, he shouldn't be trying this hard. It didn't cross his mind until later on. Finally, the owner offered him a deal. They'd have to settle it in court, but Luke wasn't so sure he wanted to go through with it. He wasn't sure Michael would want to go through with it, but Michael had told him to do anything he could. This was that 'anything'.

He drove back to the station, slowly. He wasn't sure how Michael would react to the deal he made. He was sure the judge would let it happen but only if Michael agreed. 

"I need to speak with my client, Michael Clifford," he told a guard standing beside the jail cells. He nodded and went to get Michael. He came back and sent them to a different room.

"About time you get back. I thought those guys were ready to eat me. Is that my clothes?" he asked while pointing to a bag in Luke's hand. He sat down next to Michael and nodded. 

"Your mum packed it for you." Michael smiled as he took the bag.

"Wait, you didn't tell her about this, right?" Luke shook his head and explained everything to him.

"I also talked to the owner, Michael," he said, getting quiet. "And?" Luke sighed as he faced Michael.

"He agreed to not press charges. You won't go to jail-" Michael cut him off with a tight hug. Luke stiffened because he'd never been hugged by a client. Then again most of his clients were middle aged men being sent to jail. Michael was his age and just had a habit of doing illegal things without going to jail. Plus, Luke had to admit that Michael was quite attractive but that wasn't the point. 

"But Michael, there's more." Michael pulled back and waited for Luke to continue. 

"We had to make a deal. The judge will more than likely agree because it's been done before many times. However, you have to agree as well." Michael was confused as to why he wouldn't agree and Luke knew that. 

"Michael, you'll have to be under my supervision. I'll have to look after you to make sure you don't go off and start doing illegal things again. You'll have to live with me for 5 months, at least. If in that time, you do anything that gets you arrested, you're going to jail with no side help." 

"Shit."


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is more of a filler chapter, and not much really happens. But it gives me ideas to build on so I wrote it :) thank you for leaving kudos and reading! Next chapter may be up later today or tomorrow.

Tuesday morning Luke and Michael showed up at the courthouse at 9:30 for their appointment at 10. Michael had reluctantly agreed to the conditions of his situation. He didn't want to have to live with someone he'd just met but he figured living and being under Luke's supervision was better than being in jail. 

"Mr. Clifford," started the judge, "I was hoping I wouldn't see you here again. I thought I had made myself clear the last time you stood there, remember?" Michael rolled his eyes. 

"Yes, your honor." The judge nodded and turned to Luke. 

"Mr. Hemmings, are you sure you'll be able to keep Mr. Clifford out of trouble?" Luke fought the urge to roll his eyes as Michael mumbled something about his name being just Michael. 

"Yes, your honor, I am sure of it." The judge nodded and sighed. 

"I'm warning you, Mr. Clifford, if you get into any more trouble, you're going to jail for at least 5 years.  
Mr. Hemmings here won't be able to help you. Understood?" Michael looked over at Luke. He nodded. 

"Yes, your honor." 

 

"Okay, so we're going to go to your house to get your clothes and whatever other things you'll need. I also think it's best that you tell your mum about everything. Especially since you'll be living with me now," Luke explained in the car. Michael nodded and sighed. 

"I'm sorry you have to do this. Like I know I seem like a bad person but this was never my intention," Michael apologized. Luke laughed quietly and shook his head. 

"Please, if I thought you were too bad of a person I wouldn't have agreed to this. But just promise me you'll stay out of trouble, Michael." Michael nodded and smiled. 

"With a goody two-shoes like you watching me, there's no way I'll get in trouble." 

 

Michael found it difficult to explain everything to his mum. She was special to him and he knew it'd break her heart to hear something like this. She cried when he told her but was glad that he wasn't going to jail. 

Before Michael and Luke left, she once again hugged Luke and thanked him for everything. 

"You'll still visit me, right, Mikey?" Michael smiled and hugged her tightly. "Of course." 

While in court, Michael had let the judge know about his mums illness and the judge had arranged for an at-home nurse to take care of his mum while Michael was away. Luke's apartment was about an hour away but Luke had told Michael that he'd drive him over once or twice a week. 

 

Once they had finally arrived at Luke's apartment, Michael became aware of how little sleep he'd had in the past 72 hours. Luke noticed too and led Michael to his couch. 

"There's an extra bedroom but I don't have a mattress in there yet. I'll get one tomorrow. But you're tired so you can sleep on the couch for the time being. Tell me if you need anything, alright?" Michael nodded as Luke took Michael's suitcases to what he assumed was the spare bedroom. 

"Thank you," he called out before falling on the couch, immediately drifting off to sleep. 

 

"Michael. Michael. Wake up. Miiiichaelllll." Luke slowly shook Michael who finally woke up with a startle and rolled off the couch. 

"Ow." 

"Ugh, shit. Sorry, Michael. I didn't mean to scare you, sorry," Luke apologized quickly as he helped Michael stand up. 

"It's okay," he replied as he brushed himself off. 

"It's been like 5 hours since you fell asleep and I made dinner for us. I'm not sure what you usually eat but I'm pretty sure everyone likes pizza so that's what I made. Hope you don't mind," Luke said as he lead Michael to the small kitchen. 

"Oh my god, the day I mind eating pizza is the day my soul gets taken away from me. Thank you so much," Michael said as he took a plate from Luke's hand and grabbed two slices of pizza. Luke did the same and they sat down at the counter. 

"So are you going to have to be with me all of the time or what?" Michael asked as he took a bite. Luke shook his head. 

"You can go out and do things on your own but you'll have to tell me where you're going. And if you get arrested while you're on your own, then that's it. Just don't do anything stupid." 

"Don't talk to me like I'm a child, Luke." Luke rolled his eyes and ate his pizza in silence. Michael, for the first time that night, noticed that Luke wasn't wearing his navy blue suit anymore but was wearing sweats and a Green Day t-shirt.

"Why the fuck are you a lawyer?" he asked as he grabbed a napkin and wiped his mouth. Luke laughed and shrugged.

"Just kinda happened. I actually wanted to sing when I was younger but never really did anything with that. Then I got into high school and really felt like being a lawyer so here I am. Why are you so surprised by it?" he asked. Michael leaned forward and stared intently. 

"You just don't look like the lawyer type. And I really like Green Day, by the way. Hope you play some good music while I'm here. Otherwise I'll go out and get arrested on purpose, okay?" he joked. Luke laughed. 

"I'll try not to let that happen." 

 

"Luke, this mattress isn't big enough." 

"Michael, you're one person. You don't need a damn queen size bed. Plus, I can't afford it," Luke said as he walked toward a different bed. 

"Shut the fuck up. I know you were given thousands of dollars to take care of me. You could afford 10 queen size beds with that money," Michael replied casually. 

"How the hell did you know about that? Oh my god," Luke said exasperated while Michael laughed. He threw his arm around Luke's shoulders and kept walking. 

"I'm not stupid, okay? I may do some stupid shit but I'm not stupid. I figured it out. You're a lawyer but you're not all that rich to support a badass criminal like me." Luke laughed. 

"You do know you were once arrested for standing around like a creep, right?" Michael scoffed. 

"It's called loitering, Luke. You make it sound like I'm some stalker," Michael said. He pointed toward a mattress in the corner and grinned at Luke. 

"That one." 

 

"Luke," he panted, "Luke!" Luke threw his head back on the couch and groaned. 

"What, Michael? I'm trying to read." Michael stopped at the front door and glared at him as he held the mattress up. 

"Yeah, that's nice and all but I could use some help getting this damn bed into the fucking room. Get your ass up and help me," Michael growled. Luke laughed as he set his book down and stood up. 

"You're so weak, Michael. C'mon, put your legs into it." Michael kicked Luke and laughed when Luke almost fell. 

"I will call the police on you for assault, Clifford," Luke warned. 

"Yeah, yeah. Joke all you want. Ugh, why is this so heavy?" He pulled the bed while Luke pushed it. Luke glared at him and shrugged as best as he could. 

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe because somebody wanted a damn queen size bed." They finally made it to the room and they stood there, taking a slight break before pushing the bed through the doorway. 

"Oh my god, finally," Michael exhaled as he sat down on the neatly placed mattress. Luke was panting as he threw himself back, sighing contentedly as his back rested. 

"This is so comfortable. We might have to trade beds," Luke said while smiling. Michael scoffed and pushed him off the bed. He fell with a thud as Michael giggled. 

"My bed."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Maybe this wasn't too bad and you guys will read the next chapter?


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh, geez, this took longer than expected to finish. sorry. thank you for leaving kudos! enjoy.

"Luke, are you gay?" 

"What the hell, Michael?" 

"Well, are you?"

"Yeah." 

Michael laughed and threw his pillow at Luke. 

They'd been living together for 3 weeks now and it was safe to say they were friends. It was weird, really. Luke was supposed to simply lead Michael in the right path, not be his friend but he wasn't complaining. Michael was nice company. It'd been years since he'd had a decent friend. Those had left him 3 years ago. 

"What about you?" Luke asked as he flipped through the channels. They were currently on Michael's bed, enjoying the new flat screen TV Michael had asked for. Luke was pretty sure he shouldn't be getting all of these things with the money he was given but Michael didn't give a shit. 

"What about me?" Michael asked. Luke rolled his eyes. 

"Are you gay?" Michael shrugged and laughed quietly. 

"Ask my last boyfriend." He winked at Luke as he giggled. He turned back to the TV and was happy to find that Law & Order: SVU was on for the rest of the night. He laid on his stomach and smiled as Michael mumbled something about 'lawyer shit'.

"Who was your last boyfriend?" Michael asked as he copied Luke and leaned his head on his shoulder. Luke frowned as flashbacks of his only relationship came back to him. 

"Luke, answer meee," Michael whined as he shook Luke's arm. Luke smiled at him, his smile not quite reaching his eyes. Michael noticed.

"Oh, shit. Did it end bad? Were you in love with him? Holy crap, I'm sorry I brought it up." Luke giggled as he shook his head slowly and sighed. 

"Nah, it's not really like that. Well, it is in a way but it's a really fucked up situation. I don't mind telling you, but just not now. Tonight's a happy night. I don't wanna mess it up, okay?" he smiled at Michael to let him know he was alright. Michael nodded. 

 

The next day they had to go back to court for a check up on how Michael was doing. It was weird for Michael to see Luke transition from a normal 22 year old at his apartment to a professional lawyer in the courtroom. He was a completely different person but one thing that was the same was his smile. He loved the way Luke's smile would widen as he talked about the case with the judge. It was then that Michael realized the Luke really enjoyed this. He enjoyed having to defend people, innocent or not. He would never wrap his head around why Luke enjoyed it but in a very gay way, he was happy that Luke was happy. 

"God, that sucked," Michael said as soon as they were back in Luke's car. Luke laughed and nodded. 

"At least you're not in jail, Michael. Do you wanna visit your mum? Since we're already out?" Michael shook his head and yawned. "I'm really sleepy, so can we just go back to your apartment?" Luke giggled as he pulled out of the parking lot. 

"Michael Clifford, are you coming on to me?" he asked. Michael hummed and winked at Luke. 

"You know it, babe." 

 

Two weeks later, Luke got a call at 2 am saying it was urgent that he get to the station. Apparently they didn't give a shit that he shouldn't be working with a minor criminal in his home. 

He left a note for said minor criminal as he went to the station. The officer had told him that they had arrested a guy for assault. He was not looking forward to it. 

 

Luke didn't get back home until 11 pm that same day. Michael knew it had been a shitty day when he slammed the front door shut and threw his briefcase on the floor. He ignored Michael asking how his day was and went to his room, slamming that door shut as well. Michael sighed as he set his bag of chips aside and walked to Luke's room. 

"Luke," he knocked twice, quietly, "Luke, I'm coming in." He walked in and saw Luke putting his sweats on before falling flat on his stomach onto the bed. Michael climbed into bed with him and dug his chin into Luke's shoulder, arm going around his waist loosely.

"Hey," he mumbled. Luke hummed and sighed. "Today was terrible, Michael. I feel like quitting my fucking job. Stupid assholes don't know how hard it is to be a lawyer. God, I hate my job," Luke groaned as he buried his face into his pillow. Michael giggled and rubbed his back. 

"Stop saying that. You love your job, remember? Defending people and shit. It's who you are. Today was just a bad day. Don't let that set you back," he replied. Luke gave him a small smile and flipped himself over, wrapping his arms around Michael's stomach and laying his head on his chest. 

"The guy I was appointed to tried to punch me multiple times. If it weren't for the cops controlling him, I would be dead probably." Michael squeezed his waist and held him close. 

"Michael," Luke started as he sat up and folded his knees to his chest,  
"you know how I told you a few weeks ago about the last guy I was with? And how it ended badly?" Michael nodded as he sat up, watching Luke's expressions. It was hard, he realized, to read Luke. He could go from being happy to sad faster than Michael could devour an entire pizza by himself. Sometimes he wished that he could read people's mind so that he wouldn't feel so helpless at times like these. 

"Well," Luke started again, bringing Michael's attention back to the conversation, "it didn't exactly end badly." 

"What?" 

"The entire thing was bad. From beginning to end. Do you wanna hear about it or no? I'm not gonna tell you if you don't wanna hear. I told you I'd tell you when I wasn't happy and I've had a shitty day." He smiled at Michael as he nodded and urged him to continue. 

"Well, his name, for starters, was Dustin. We were both in high school, but he was a grade above me. He wasn't exactly popular but definitely more out there than I was. He was super attractive but completely stupid. All in all, he was no good for anything other than looks. Acted like a douche even though no one really saw him as a jock or anything. The thing that I was attracted to the most, though, was how he made me feel like I was something," he paused and shifted, crossing his legs and sighing. 

"I'd known I was gay for almost a year but I never told my friends. I'd also never had a boyfriend. I was invited to this really huge party on a Friday night and I decided to go, thinking I'd look cool or something. He had been all around being his typical self and I was trying to be social, but I'm an outcast so it wasn't working. Anyway, I guess he felt sorry for me or something cause he started talking to me. Can you imagine that? This super attractive asshole was talking to me, a super awkward nerd. I felt on top of the world. We talked for most of the night and before I left, he asked me for my number so I gave it to him. He texted me the next day." 

"We talked for a few days, but he never acknowledged me at school or anywhere else. Like it was our little secret. A few weeks after, he asked me to meet him at his house and I said fuck it and went. He was so amazing, Michael. He was funny, quite nerdy, and really hot. We fucked that night. And so we began dating but he wanted to keep it a secret. He said he didn't want me to get hurt by our homophobic school so I didn't tell anyone. I guess the beginning wasn't all that bad at the time, cause I didn't know who he really was." 

"Wait, so you guys fucked? Just like that?" Michael asked. Luke nodded grimly.

"Yep. Anyway, after that we hung out every other day at his house, do stuff, just be together. One day, it changed. He got drunk before I got there and as soon as I walked in he, uhh, well. Fuck," Luke rubbed his eyes, holding back tears and sobs. Michael grabbed his hand and squeezed it tightly. 

"He accused me of cheating on him and then he hit me. It hurt so much the first time. It was like all these great things about him were nothing compared to that one day." 

"You broke it off after that, right?" Michael asked cautiously. Luke looked down at their hands and shook his head slowly. Michael sighed and pulled him close. 

"I didn't think he'd do it again. I thought it was just him being drunk. He didn't even remember it the next day so I just kept it in the back of my mind but a week later it happened again. Eventually, he started to..he started to hit me while sober. And that's when I knew that it wasn't right. But it's like I couldn't end things because I thought he was in love with me. I was in love with him," he whispered. 

"I stayed with him for almost 2 years, Michael. He hit me for most of that time. Sex for him wasn't about anything more than his own pleasure. You know I lost my virginity to him," he laughed quietly and looked up at Michael. 

"Luke, why would you do that to yourself? God, you're so stupid it's not even funny anymore. Don't take that that offensively, I just mean that you should know you deserve better than that. You're too amazing. Can I beat his ass? I'm so angry right now, you don't even understand. Oh my god. How did it end?" Luke smiled at him and leaned back on the bed. 

"He left me, believe it or not. One day, he came up to me, told me I wasn't good enough anymore, and never spoke to me again. I pitied myself so much. You don't even understand how stupid I felt after that. I was angry, yeah, but it was hard because yes, he did beat me and abuse me but I genuinely loved him and I just got thrown out like trash by him. It was a shit situation. I'd beat his ass now if I knew what happened to him." Michael laughed and hugged Luke. 

"You're my favorite person, y'know that?" 

"Just cause of my sob story?" Luke grinned. Michael shook his head. 

"No, because even after all that you still manage to be so happy and you still help others. You're a fucking lawyer, it's your job and that's just incredible. I really wish that had never happened to you. You didn't deserve it," he mumbled. 

"And," Michael started after a few minutes of silence, "I promise you that if he ever shows up again, I'll beat his ass, okay?" Luke smiled and turned to face him. 

"Not under my supervision, you won't. I don't want you in jail. I lost all of my friends after I told them cause they said I was lying for attention. You're the only friend I have, Michael. Can't have you in jail and not here with me. Like you too much," he mumbled tiredly. Michael blushed and nodded in agreement. 

"I like you too, Luke."


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, well, I am shit at updating. I apologize for that. I feel like this chapter is longer than the rest but maybe it's only because I spent longer writing it than the other chapters. I'll try to update a lot sooner next time. Enjoy! :-)

"Mr. Hemmings, you made the call to the cops that got Mr. Clifford arrested again, correct?" Luke stared at Michael from across the court room. He didn't look at Luke. 

"Yes, I did." 

 

Michael had failed to tell Luke that his birthday was coming up next week. It wasn't until Luke was reviewing his cases of the month that he saw Michael's file and his date of birth printed next to his address. Now he was giving him shit for it. 

"C'mon, Luke. With everything going on I just forgot it was next week. Sorry," he said mindlessly. They were currently putting the groceries they had just bought where they belonged. Michael handed Luke the item since he was taller and could reach the cupboards with ease. 

"How does one forget their own birthday, though? I count down the days to mine." Michael shrugged as he handed two cans of vegetables to the other boy. Luke rolled his eyes at Michael's nonchalant attitude. 

"Well, what do you want?" He asked as he sat the counter next to where Michael stood. 

"Nothing, Luke. I already told you. It's not a big deal. I'll just be another year older and quite frankly, I don't need a reminder of how fucking old I really am." He shuddered and opted to put the grocery bags away. They both knew how domestic they acted everyday but didn't really talk about it, deciding it was because of the circumstances. 

"But Michaellll..it's been like 2 years since I was last able to do something for someone on a special day. What do you want?" he questioned again. He was starting to drive Michael crazy. 

In the month and a half they'd been living together Luke had found out a lot about Michael. For example, he found out it was really easy to convince Michael to do something if you really thought about it. He knew he could convince him to say what he wanted in no time. 

"Okay, let's do this then," Luke started when Michael didn't respond, "you tell me what you want and I'll convince the judge to push our next court meeting by a week, yeah?" Michael hated going to court so often and he would take any chance to move the date back. He held his gaze on Luke and reluctantly agreed. 

"Fine. But I swear to god if you back out after I tell you, I will murder you in your sleep, got it?" Luke laughed while nodding. 

"Okay. I want you to surprise me," Michael said. Luke's smile dropped and he furrowed his eyebrows. "What?" 

"You heard me. It's up to you, Hemmings." Luke shook his head. "Michael, that's not how it works. You're supposed to tell me what you want." Michael laughed and shrugged as he stood up and made his way to his room after calling out, "That is what I want." 

 

2 days. It was 2 days until Michael's birthday and Luke had no idea what he was going to give him. He had tried to very subtly get the boy to give him clues but well, he failed. 

"Music." He had said abruptly as they ate breakfast that morning. 

"What?" Michael had replied with a mouth full of eggs and bacon. 

"I'm going to get you something based on music. You love music. Holy shit, yes." He quickly grabbed his keys and shoes on the way out. 

"Where are you going?" Michael had asked confused. 

"Out." 

An hour later, he was at the mall searching through every CD store he could find. He had bought a few simple things already. Mainly just band merch from some of Michael's favorite bands he had come to find out days after Michael was forced to move in.

He was at the last store he could find in the mall when he got a call from none other than Michael. 

"Yeah?" he answered. 

"Uh, hey, yeah. Okay, so there's this guy outside the apartment and uh, well, he's shouting through the door saying he's looking for you. Said he won't leave 'til you open the door. I don't know what to do.." his voice trailed off and Luke could tell he was a bit scared so he made his way outside. 

"I'll be there in a bit, okay? Just don't open the door and if he tries to get in, call the cops. It's probably an angry client or something. Whatever you do, just don't open the door, Michael," he warned sternly. He hung up as he got in his car, putting the bags of presents in the back seat. 

 

15 minutes later, he arrived at the apartment complex thanking the Gods that he hadn't been pulled over for speeding. He left the bags in the car and quickly made his way to his door. He could see the guy had taken a seat in front of the door and sighed. 

"Excuse me?" Luke tentatively approached the guy, almost shitting his pants when he saw who it was. 

"Dustin? What the hell are you doing here? Fucking shit," Luke rolled his eyes as Dustin stood up and smiled at Luke. 

"Hey. I wasn't sure if you were home or not so I decided just to sit and wait for a while. You look great, Luke. Wow." He eyed Luke up and down and wow, Luke felt uncomfortable. Before he could express his discomfort, Michael had swung the door open, looking relieved and terrified at the same time. Luke's fond for him was showing and he knew it. 

"Who's this?" Dustin asked as he gazed at Michael. Luke pushed past Dustin and was about to shut the door when he stopped it with his hand. 

"Hey, hey, hey. I just wanted to talk. No need to be a rude dick, alright?" Michael was stood behind Luke. He silently asked for an explanation but he just shook his head. 

"Can you just leave? You have no reason to be here. How did you even find out where I live?" Luke asked quietly. He was just looking out for Michael. He didn't mean it when he said he would beat the shit out of Dustin if he ever saw him again but he knew that Michael did.

"C'mon, Lukey, remember what we had? Don't you want it again?" Dustin asked with a smirk. Luke almost gagged but instead let anger take over him. He remembered every punch and kick this asshole had thrown his way years ago.

"No. I don't want to have to hide. I don't want to be your weekend fun. I don't want your beatings. I don't want anything from you, Dustin. Just leave. Now." Michael grabbed Luke's arm as realization washed over him. He glared at the guy in front of them and attempted to move forward only to be stopped by Luke. 

"Michael, please don't," he whispered, "you'll get in trouble. Don't." Dustin saw the interaction between the two and stepped closer to Luke. 

"Is this your boyfriend now or what? A fuck buddy? Always knew you were that type of slut." Luke shook his head and attempted to shut the door again. The next few moments were a blur for Luke. Dustin tried to make his way inside but Luke wasn't about to let that happen so he pushed him back, only to have Dustin push him away with force into Michael. 

Michael gripped Luke's waist and instinctively put himself in front of him to shield him from Dustin. Luke held Michael's left arm to keep him back. "Michael, please don't. I'm okay. Look, I'm fine. Get behind me," Luke pleaded. Michael shook his head. In that moment, Dustin threw a punch at one of the two boys. He missed, giving Michael the opportunity to tackle him outside of the front door. As Dustin tried to get up, he kicked him in the rib area before hastily going back inside, locking the door. The boy outside was pounding on the door. 

"Luke, call the cops!" Michael shouted at Luke who was frantically looking for his phone. 

"But you'll get in trouble," Luke countered before he dialed the number.

"For fucks sake. Just call them!" Michael yelled as Dustin tried to break the door down. 

 

"Mr. Hemmings, you made the call to the cops that got Mr. Clifford arrested again, correct?" Luke stared at Michael from across the court room. He didn't look at Luke. 

"Yes, I did." Luke answered the defense attorney's question. He glanced at Dustin who had been smirking the entire time.

"Why did you make that call?" The attorney asked. Luke sighed. 

"Your client showed up at my apartment and caused a scene. I called the cops after he tried to make his way into my apartment on his own terms," Luke replied calmly. He knew testifying was normally something witnesses were nervous about but as a lawyer, he also knew that if he stayed calm he would tell the story more convincingly. 

"Right. Who made the first threatening touch?" 

"Dustin did. He pushed me and tried to get inside." He made sure not to get into detail and stray away from the question. 

"When did Mr. Clifford get physical?" The attorney asked, quickly glancing at Michael, who was now looking right at Luke. Luke knew this was all that mattered. They only cared about what Michael had done and whether they could send him to jail for it or not. They wanted him in jail. 

"After Dustin, your client, pushed me Michael put himself in front of me and only acted when Dustin threw a punch and missed." The attorney nodded. 

"So he missed?" Luke knew he was trying to find Michael guilty. 

"Yes. He threw a punch toward both of us and missed." He looked at Michael. He wasn't looking at him anymore. Luke frowned. 

"What did Mr. Clifford proceed to do?" Luke sighed again. 

"Michael tackled Dustin outside of the apartment. He locked the door so that he wouldn't get in," Luke replied slowly. The attorney looked at Luke for a moment and clasped his hands. 

"Is it true that Mr. Clifford kicked my client after tackling him?" Luke looked at Dustin, who was still smirking and nodded. 

"Yes." The attorney nodded. 

"Would you say Mr. Clifford reacted in self-defense?" Luke nodded quickly. 

"Absolutely. Who knows what would have happened if he hadn't done what he did? He protected me and protected himself from your client." 

The court hearing continued on for another hour. Dustin and Michael both were questioned and of course, Dustin lied. Luke sat and watched the entire thing. 

It would be up to the judge to decide what would happen to Michael. He knew that even if the judge recognized the truth and let Michael go, he wouldn't be under Luke's supervision anymore. They would set him up with someone else. 

"After hearing the three testimonies, I have a verdict. Mr. Michael Clifford, you are free to go. Mr. Dustin Wells, you will be held in a prison cell until I decide your punishment. Mr. Luke Hemmings, in a week we will meet here at 10 in the morning to decide if Mr. Clifford will continue to be under your supervision." The judge hit the gavel and a cop took Dustin away. 

Michael thanked his lawyer and made his way toward Luke, who was still sitting. 

"Hey," Michael greeted. Luke stared ahead and smiled slightly. 

"Happy birthday, Michael." Michael laughed and opened his arms for a hug. Luke stood up and hugged him tightly. Michael laughed softly and buried his face into Luke's neck. 

"Y'know, I actually forgot it was my birthday so thank you for remembering." They pulled apart and made their way to Luke's car. 

"How could I forget?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case you were confused, the beginning was the present and the rest were the events that lead up to it. The next chapter will be Luke's birthday surprise for Michael. Lots of Muke for sure ;)

**Author's Note:**

> Well, there ya go. Was it alright? I haven't written anything else out so I'm definitely not sure how long or short this will be. I'll for sure continue it, though, if enough of you liked it :) thank you for reading!


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